Miesha Tate Makes Bold Prediction For Holm vs. Cyborg

Fight fans are getting a late Christmas present from the UFC as they will get to watch a fight that they have been dreaming about for a few years now as Cris Cyborg will fight one of the best 135-pound women on the planet.

The UFC has already announced that Cyborg will put her women’s 145-pound title against former bantamweight champion Holly Holm at UFC 219.

Make no mistake about it, Holm is the most accomplished fighter Cyborg will have ever faced. However, that fact didn’t play a factor in the betting odds for the bout as Cyborg is already a heavy betting favorite over Holm.

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate recently appeared on MMA Tonight on SiriusXM Rush, and during the interview, she believes that Holm is the fighter best suited to taking out the seemingly unstoppable Cyborg.

“Of anybody that I can think to fight Cyborg to right now, that has the best chance, I honestly, truly believe that it is Holly,” said Tate (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting).

“The reason I say that is, if Cyborg can’t get ahold of Holly, if she recklessly chases her down – similar to how Ronda did, not using the correct angles – if she follows her like a missile – which she does in every fight I’ve ever seen before, that’s how she hunts girls down because she can – with holly, that’s not a good idea.

She can cut through those angles. She’s an amazing counter striker and if she lands that head kick, I think she can put anybody away. So stylistically, this makes for a really, really interesting fight.”

Just two years ago, Holm was set to face Ronda Rousey for the title, and she pulled off the upset by defying the odds to knock out Rousey. Then she went on a rough patch as she submitted by Tate in her next bout before losing back to back decisions including one for the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title.

Now, Holm is back on track as she has knocked out Bethe Correia in June. Despite the negative road that Holm has traveled, Tate thinks that that’s about to change as Holm may be able to give Cyborg a serious run for her money.

“If Cyborg gets ahold of her and throws her down to the ground, obviously Holly’s in trouble. She’s in big trouble. But I can truly attest to how amazing Holly’s footwork is and just how difficult she is to get ahold of, how hard it is to do that. You really have to throw everything to the wayside just to try to grab her.

I think I got two takedowns on her in our five rounds and I’m smaller. I think I’m a little speedier than Cyborg is even. Cyborg’s really, really strong but she’s not necessarily the fastest woman in the world. She doesn’t tend to shoot a lot out in the open so I think to press Holly against the cage or to overwhelm Holly is going to be a difficult task, I really do.”